


Use for Ingredients

by Bluehaven4220



Category: due South
Genre: Cooking Lessons, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, new recipe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 00:39:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7663396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluehaven4220/pseuds/Bluehaven4220
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fraser teaches Ray how to make bread pudding</p>
            </blockquote>





	Use for Ingredients

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ButterflyGhost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButterflyGhost/gifts).



> I made bread pudding tonight, so I thought Fraser should teach Ray how to make it as well.
> 
> Written as a thank you to ButterflyGhost for being such a great friend and beta! I hope you like it!

“Waste not, want not,” his grandmother had told him. It had all but been a necessity, growing up in the Arctic. Nothing was ever wasted. For example, chickens were kept for eggs, and, when necessary, for meat, their carcasses then transferred to the stock pot with whatever vegetables they had and used for soup. As a child, he’d marveled at all the uses for ingredients. As an adult, it was ingrained in his psyche.

Which was precisely why he was at Ray Kowalski’s apartment for dinner, now showing him another use for stale bread, aside from tossing it into the trash.

“Really, Ray, just because it’s stale does not mean it needs to go out into the trash.”

“Fraser, there’s three pieces and the two end pieces left, and it’s rock hard. I can’t even bite into it.”

“We can still use it,” he insisted, reaching into the cupboard and pulling out a neglected mixing bowl and small baking pan. Shrugging, he placed them both on the counter and turned around, scanning the kitchen. “Ah.”

“Ah? What’s ah?” Ray was practically bouncing on his heels. “Fraser, what are you doing in my cupboard?”

“Sugar,” he pulled it down and set it beside the mixing bowl. “And you’ve got milk and eggs in the fridge?”

“Yeah, I’m not _that_ hard up for food, Fraser, I just didn’t feel like cooking, that’s why I ordered pizza.” Ray rolled his eyes. “What are you doing, by the way?”

“I’m making bread pudding,” Ben grabbed the stale bread and chopped it roughly. “The beauty about this, Ray, is that it doesn’t need to be perfect. Just chop it up however you see fit and toss it into the pan.” Ray noticed that this was turning into a demonstration. “Add a tablespoon of melted butter over the bread, and dried fruit if you like. Do you have any?”

“I think I have some raisins left over from when my mum was here to visit. She likes em on her oatmeal.”

“Raisins will do fine. Cupboard?”

“Right beside where you found the sugar if I do have any.”

It seemed that Fraser knew Ray’s kitchen better than he did. Turns out he _did_ have raisins, and Fraser’d found them in less than a minute.

“Now, if you could help me with this…” he picked up the mixing bowl and gave it to Ray, then went to the fridge and grabbed the milk and eggs. “Ray, if you be so kind as to crack two eggs into the bowl, then mix it with a cup and a half of milk, a quarter cup of sugar, plus two tablespoons, and some cinnamon, I’d appreciate it.”

Sighing, Ray did as he asked. Mixing and adding ingredients was something that Fraser had down to a science and an art. He probably looked like a little kid with their knees on a stepstool so they could reach the stove. “Didja need to turn the oven on?” he asked as he tossed the eggshells into the compost. No way Fraser could object to _that_.  

“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re right. To three hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit,” Ben reached over and turned the dial on the oven. “This is a fairly new oven, correct? My grandmother’s stove was wood burning, so we always had to watch what we were cooking very closely.”

“The thrill of modern convenience,” Ray chuckled. “Okay, now what am I doing with the egg mixture here?”

“Pour it over the bread and let it sit until the oven’s warmed up. The egg mixture has to soak into the bread before we bake it.”

“Greatness.” Ray did as Fraser instructed. “Guess we should, uh… do the dishes while it cooks, right?”

“That’s another thing, Ray…” Fraser had that grin on his face. “It needs to cook for about 40 minutes, and then cool for around five. There aren’t many dishes when making bread pudding, so we could technically have them done fairly quickly and then watch the hockey game if you like?”

“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.” The sink wasn’t even halfway full, and, as Fraser’d guessed, the dishes were done in less time than it took to set the oven timer. That meant they still had enough time to catch the opening face off.

Soon, the apartment smelled really good. Like sugar and cinnamon. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think someone was making French toast for dinner.

Someone was just heading to the penalty box when the timer went off. Fraser practically jumped off the couch and took the pan out of the oven, then went rummaging in Ray’s freezer.

“I’m just setting the ice cream out to thaw a bit.”

“Smells real good in here,” Ray looked up from the TV. “Hey, did you say ice cream?”

“Yes Ray,” Fraser answered. “For those who enjoy it, ice cream pairs wonderfully with bread pudding.”

“Huh, didn’t know that “ He looked back at the TV and lurched forward. “Shoot! The net is right there! What are you waiting for? Gah, he missed it!” Once he’d put his feet back on the floor, he looked up again to see Fraser carrying two bowls, one that had ice cream added on top of their dessert and one without.

“Smells real nice,” he repeated, then accepted the bowl with ice cream and dug into it. “Mmm, you weren’t wrong. That’s really good. Thanks Fraser”

“You’re welcome Ray, I thought you’d like it,” Fraser settled down on the couch beside Ray, then leaned forward and took a bite of his dessert. “So, how are the Blackhawks fairing tonight?”

“Still tied at nothing,” Ray smiled. “What do you say we finish our bread pudding and then watch the game all the way through?”

Fraser smiled back at him. “I think that’s a very good idea.”    


End file.
